Inspiron 8100 - It shouldn't be Dell's Flagship model!
Written: Oct 12 '01 (Updated Oct 12 '01)
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Pros: Options Galore, up to 1.2 PIII-M processor, can replace many desktops, Eye-Popping Screen, Stylish
Cons: Lack of current technology for PIII-M power features, price, weight, sound
The Bottom Line: Overall, excellent notebook but for specific market. Size, weight, and battery life remain problematic issues... the new Inspiron 4100 and the upcoming C-400 display much better battery life.
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| yusakugo's Full Review: Dell Inspiron 8100 Series |
The Inspiron 8000... oh wait, this is really a Inspiron 8100... Dell's new flagship model. I have constantly recommended Dell laptops to friends and colleagues and had a chance to play (well, teach my partner) about the new Inspiron 8100 laptop he purchased.
He purchased a Inspiron 8100 with the following bells and whistles:
Pentium III-M 866 GHz
128 MB of RAM (buy extra RAM from Crucial... high quality and cheaper)
GeForce2Go 32 MB
DVD/CD-RW Combo drive
Extra Battery
56K built-in PCI modem with 10/100 network
Leather Notebook Case
Additional color face plates
15 inch UXGA Screen
20 GB HD
Running Windows 2000 with XP coupon upgrade
Office XP SBE
All this for under $2200 with taxes and S&H. Hey, all those odd Dell promos help with the price! Considering what a fully loaded Inspiron 8100 can run (just under $4000 with almost everything), this is a decent bargain. The lowest you can get a Inspiron 8100 is just under $1500 from the Home Office store with a $50 coupon and $150 mail-in rebate.
And you know what... this notebook isn't for everyone... and it isn't for anyone who wants the latest hardware!
Performance
The Inspiron lives up to legacy of the 8000 series. It is truly meant to be a Desktop replacement. The new Pentium III-M (I will call it the PIII-M for now on) chips are smaller and run on less electricity. For the heavily tech orientated, this means a 0.13 micron processor with 512 kb or L2 cache and the system runs on a 133MHz front-side bus. For comparison sake, the prior mobile Pentium III chips were 0.18 micron with 256 kb and run on a 100MHz front-side bus. Okay... this means the PIII-M processor and motherboard is significantly faster than a comparable Pentium III chip. A 866MHz PIII-M chip just outpaced my PIII 1 GHz Inspiron 8000 with the exact same hardware configurations running Windows 2000 (using various standard benchmarking tests).
The screen is still stunning with the crisp details of the GeForce2Go 32MB card (which may no longer be the top of the heap with the ATI Radeon Mobility 7500 chipset being released). The keyboard had an excellent feel and key spacing was not cramped. No burnproof on the DVD/CD-RW though. One battery lasted only 2 1/2 hours still... huh?! What the heck?! I'll get into this a little later...
My home computer is a Dell Dimension XPS PIII-650MHz with a ATA-66 30GB Hard Drive and a ATA-100 60 GB Hard Drive, 512 MB of memory, GeForce 3 graphics card, 6x DVD-ROM, 20x12x40 Yamaha CD-RW drive with BurnProof technology with a 19 inch monitor. PC-133 memory is being used. System is not being overclocked. My Inspiron 8000 is equiped similarly to my partner's 8100 except with more memory (currently at 512 MB thanks to those sales at Crucial Memory!).
Things that do slow down the notebook include the slower hard drive compared with those found in desktops. Notebook hard drives spin at about 4200 rpm except for the 48 GB hard drive by DELL which spins at 5400 rpm. Consider that most desktop hard drives spin at 5400 rpm minimum and upwards to 7200 rpm (some SCSI models spin up to 10,000 rpm!). All this means is that data is accessed faster with higher a rpm.
The video card is the 8100 was a GeForce2Go 32 MB 4x AGP card. In fact, you can only choose the 16MB or 32MB version of the chipset. This is about the equivalent of a GeForce 2 MX/MX400 card with 32 MB of memory. You are not getting desktop cutting edge graphics... but it's an excellent performer even though the ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 graphics chips have much better specs.
The sound from the notebook's own speakers is a bit weak... however, this is a finding in most notebooks with the exception of the Toshiba 2805-S402 notebook and others in the 2805 line. The Toshiba model has a built-in subwoofer... the sound of that Toshiba notebook is plain awesome! You can read my review on that notebook through my profile page.
An oddity I can still find on DVD playback on the 8100 was that close up viewing of the screen showed a kind of filmly layer to the picture. Colors separated with skin tones especially. This is a problem I also encountered with my Inspiron 8000 on a GeForce2Go card. This odd coloring with the GeForce2Go detracted from the overall DVD viewing on my Inspiron 8100... although my partner didn't mind the quality. Again, like the 8000, running Quake III and other computer games did not exhibit this quality on the notebook screen to any notable degree. I tried The Matrix, Jet Li's Fist of Legend, My Dog Skip, and Dark City with similar results. Funny though, The Simpsons came through in vivid color!
The Inspiron 8100 is still a heavy notebook! It weighs almost 7 lbs if you remove the two optical drives from the unit... however, with this setup of having one optical drive with two batteries, this approached the 8 lbs catagory. The extra battery and DVD/CD-RW drive really add some weight to the computer. This is a hard notebook to carry around.
Battery issues
Remember I mentioned a lack of technology in my cons...
Well, a major problem is Dell not using the latest Intel chipsets with the PIII-M and sacrificing the Enhanced Speedstep function of the PIII-M and therefore sacrificing a chance at enhanced battery life. There was only a few minutes of difference in running the PIII-M 8100 versus my PIII 8000 notebook. Without chipsets like the i830 in the 8100, the notebook utilizes the PIII-M like a regular mobile PIII. The notebook is using many of the same chips in the original 8000 notebook. So the 8100 is running regular Speedstep instead of the enhanced version on the PIII-M because the Inspiron 8100 doesn't recognize Enhanced Speedstep yet. I'm sure that Dell will correct this sometime in the future, but right now... I feel it's a major problem. Other notebook maker with the PIII-M chips and i830 chipsets are running 3-4 hours with their mid-range and high-range notebooks... a far cry to what the Inspiron 8100 is currently running at. Even the new Inspiron 4100 runs a significantly higher battery time, so far, I've seen up to 3 1/2 hours on that notebook!
Dell screwed up majorly in this department...
Options galore!
I'm only adding this section to give you an idea of how much you can customize the Inspiron 8100. In fact, most of the accessories are the same ones used for the original 8000 notebook.
Processor choices range from Pentium III-M 866 MHz, 1GHz, 1.12 GHz and 1.2 GHz processors.
Memory is based on PC-133 speed and can be expanded to 512MB maximum via 2 easy to access SODIMM slots. 128MB (2 SODIMMS) is the standard memory configuration for the notebook.
AGP 4x graphics via 815e chipset. Graphics cards from the GeForce2Go chipset are available in only 16MB or 32 MB of dedicated graphics RAM.
14.1 or 15 inch screen are available with Super XGA+ (1400x1050 on 15 inch screen) or Ultra XGA+ (1600x1200 on 15 inch screen) resolutions!
Hard Drive choices from 10GB to 48GB.
Up to two Optical drive devices from 24x CD-ROM to 8x DVD to 8x4x32 CD-RW to DVD/CD-RW combo drive.
2nd battery can be installed into the 2nd optical bay.
Choice of 56K with 10/100 connection on PCI board or through PC Card slot with additional cost.
Various cases for additional cost (I do recommend a Dell notebook case since they are fitted for the 8000/8100 specifically.
And all the additional accessories like port replicators and the such. A general rule is that the majority of Inspiron 8000 accessories fit the 8100 with a few minor exceptions... like memory boards.
Final Thoughts...
All in all, the Inspiron is a solid performer and great desktop replacement... but it lacks some features that should have been included into the notebook. The lack of an upgraded controller chipset like the i830 in almost unforgivable! Like many computers these days, it possesses more power than the majority of consumer users will need... gamers, engineers, and graphics specialists will love this notebook. The Inspiron 8100 easily competes with the mid-range desktop segment and even some high-priced/ranged desktop segment. It is powerful enough for games and medium to high-end graphical solutions. You also have a 5 hour portable solution in your hands as well. It's hard to complain with that...
But you're paying quite a price for a notebook versus and desktop... take for example my brother's fairly new desktop from Dell. My brother spent $1000 in July for his Dell Dimension 8100 desktop with 1.3 GHz Pentium 4 processor with 256MB of Rambus memory, 32 MB Geforce 2 MX card, 12x DVD-ROM drive, 20 GB hard drive, THX sound system, and 56K modem. He just bought a 16x10x32 CD-RW for $100 and a 19 inch monitor for $350. That is half the cost of my notebook already! Secondly, the price of this system is less than $600 at current prices with a 16x10x32 CD-RW costing as low as $65 and a 19inch monitor as low as $275 (non-brand). Geez, how prices have bottomed out.\
There are other downsides to the Inspiron 8100 from a notebook standpoint. This is the same basic design as the Inspiron 8000 notebook and therefore shares the same dimensions and almost the exact same weight! The size and weight of the Inspiron 8100 is rather large and heavy. A fully loaded Inspiron 8100 will weigh about 8lbs! This is not the easiest of laptops to bring around with you.
If you are buying a notebook to replace a desktop system, this may be a good answer. If you're looking for a supplement for a desktop system, maybe you should think again... the size and weight of the notebook are major factors here. If you are using the notebook for more menial tasks like basic word processing and web surfing... then look at cheaper notebooks like the Inspiron 2100, 2500, and 4000. The new Inspiron 4100 will also suit many tasks especially with the improved battery life with the latest controller chipsets... it may only sport a Radeon Mobility M6 graphics chip but the system definitely packs a wallop!
Look at my most popular reviews section on my profile page for links to my Inspiron 8000 review, Toshiba 2805 review, and KDS Valiant notebook review.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2200 total
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: 801-900
Screen Size: 15
RAM: 128
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20
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yusakugo
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Member: Rich Go
Location: Somewhere in the NorthEast
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Losing Sleep and Lacking Time... sigh...
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